| Cousins
Public Interest Fellowship
General Information
The
Cousins Public Interest Fellowship offers experienced lawyers the
opportunity to work with law students to deliver civil legal services
to indigent Georgians. The Fellowship has three primary goals: to
create durable programs of civil legal service; to develop
opportunities for law students to assist in those services through
clinical legal education; and to help experienced practitioners pursue
public interest practice and clinical law teaching. Each Fellow works
with a host organization, from which the Fellow will work to implement
their project proposal.
The Fellowship seeks to expose law students to experienced
practitioners with an interest in public interest law. It also seeks to
help host organizations to work with students and experienced lawyers
to create effective programs to meet the needs of indigent Georgians.
This document provides potential applicants with basic information
about the Fellowships. If you have questions after reading this
document, please contact the Fellowship Coordinator using the contact
information provided below.
Fellowship Overview
Once selected, each Cousins Fellow will work for
two years. Initially, during the "teaching and research" phase, the
Fellow will spend between one semester and one year at the University
of Georgia School of Law. During this time, the Fellow will have the
opportunity to develop the proposed project, using resources at the
University and elsewhere. The Fellow receives a travel and research
stipend for this same purpose. Finally, the Fellow will also co-teach
in one of the School of Law's clinical programs on a topic related to
their Fellowship proposal.
The "service" phase of the Fellowship occupies the balance of the two
year Fellowship, during which the Fellow will work directly out of the
host organization. The host organization agrees to provide space and
office support for the Fellow's activities during this time. Law
students will continue to work with the Fellow and, where appropriate,
will assist with direct service. The Fellow will also receive a travel
and research stipend during the second year of the Fellowship.
The Fellowship pays for the Fellow's salary and benefits throughout the
two year period, as well as a travel and research stipend each year.
During the teaching and research phase, the law school will provide
space, along with research and instructional support. Host
organizations agree to provide space and program support during the
service period of the Fellowship.
Selection Criteria
Project Criteria
--The
project must provide civil legal services to indigent Georgians.
"Civil" topics include any non-criminal legal concern, including a
focus on specific topics (e.g., family violence, housing, consumer law)
or on structural barriers to using the legal system. "Legal
services" can include a wide variety of work, including representation
in litigation or administrative proceedings, transactional work, legal
education and training, community organization, or administrative
and/or legislative work.
--Fellowship proposals will be assessed using the following additional criteria: the potential impact of project services; the likelihood of the project's
continuation after the Fellowship; the insight and creativity with
which the proposal addresses the relevant need; and the quality of
preparation of the project proposal.
--The
project must serve clients in the state of Georgia but may as
appropriate serve the needs of clients in neighboring states.
--Preference
will be given to proposals that create significant law practice
opportunities for students at the University of Georgia School of Law.
--Preference
will be given to projects that add new components to services already
provided by the host organization or to projects that significantly
enhance existing services provided by the host organization. The
Fellowship will not normally fund a general staff attorney position
within an existing nonprofit organization or a portion of the salary of
a private attorney engaged in a for-profitlaw practice.
Host Criteria
--Host
organizations may be either nonprofit or for-profit organizations. In
either case, the host organization must commit to providing support for
the Fellow's activities during the servicephase of the Fellowship, a minimum of 12 months.
--Applications
must include a one page letter from the host organization, stating the
host organization's interest in the project proposal, its willingness
to work with the applicant in developing the project, its awareness
that it will be called upon to provide support during the servicephase
of the project, and any other resources that it is prepared to commit
to the project.
--Fellowship
proposals must articulate how the proposed project fits into the
organizational priorities or goals of the host organization and must
articulate the host organization's commitmentto providing legal services to needy citizens.
--Preference
will be given to host organizations that commit to additional financial
support for the project proposal, including both salary supplementation
during the Fellowship and support for the Fellowship project after the
end of the Fellowship.
Candidate Criteria
--Candidates must be licensed Georgia attorneys with
more than three years of experience in law practice or in relevant
professional service.
--Candidates should persuasively describe their commitment and ability
to fulfill the two year commitment required by the Fellowship.
--Candidates should articulate how their background and experience will
contribute to the success of their project proposal. Candidates should
describe any law practice or public service experience that relates to
the topic and type of legal service that they propose. Candidates
should also describe any relevant teaching or mentoring experience that
will contribute to the effective use of law students in their project
proposal.
--Candidates may have a pre-existing relationship with the host
organization, including service as a long-term and/or full-time
employee of the host. Where such a relationship exists, candidates must
articulate the plan through which they will end any
non-Fellowship-related activities during the period of the Fellowship.
--Preference
may be given to candidates who have received prior support by any other
postgraduate Fellowship program (e.g., Equal Justice Works, Skadden,
Soros, Echoing Green and the like) or who have demonstrated the ability
to obtain independent funding for the same or similar project.
Candidates who have received such prior support should describe the
work that they performed under the earlier grant, the outcome of the
prior proposal, and how it relates to their current Fellowship proposal.
Restrictions
--The Fellowship will not provide
support for projects to provide representation in the criminal justice
system. However, this does not exclude proposals that deal with the
civil legal needs of those convicted of a crime.
--The
Fellowship will not provide support for projects that do not include
opportunities for clinical learning for school of law students.
Terms and Funding Arrangements
The Fellowship Program requires approved candidates to make a two-year
commitment to the Fellowship, including a minimum of 12 months of
service provision. Each Fellowship will start on or about August 15 of
each year and will run for two consecutive years thereafter. During the
Fellowship period, each Fellow will serve as an employee of the
University of Georgia School of Law, with salary, benefits and stipends
paid for through Fellowship funds.
The
Fellowship will pay a salary of $40,000 per year for each year of the
Fellowship. Each Fellow may elect to receive benefits through the
University of Georgia for both years. Finally, the Fellowship will pay
a travel and research stipend of $4,500 for each year of the
Fellowship. The Fellow may use the stipend for investigation, research
and project development, with the approval of the Fellowship
Coordinator. Possible stipend expenditures include travel, research
assistance, creation of materials, and development of future financial
resources.
During
the teaching and research phase, Fellows must be available to co-teach
at least one clinical class at the University of Georgia, including, at
a minimum, a regular part-time presence in Athens. The University of
Georgia School of Law will provide instructional support for all
Fellows, and will offer office space, computer and secretarial support
to Fellows during their work at the law school.
During
the service phase, Fellows must work from the host organization. The
host organization must provide office space, network and secretarial
support to Fellows during this period. While the School of Law will
continue to provide salary, benefits and a stipend directly to the
Fellow, the Host organization may supplement those amounts with further
financial assistance as it deems appropriate from independent sources.
Application Process
Applications must be mailed to the Fellowship Coordinator at the
address provided below, no later than May 15, 2008. Each
application must include: a completed Application; a letter of interest
by the host organization; a curriculum vita; a memorandum describing
the project; and up to two letters of recommendation concerning the
candidate and the Fellowship proposal. Interviews with candidates will
occur in May and June, with decisions to be made by July 1.
Fellowship Administration
|
The
Fellowships will be coordinated by Associate Professor Alexander Scherr
at the University of Georgia School of Law, under the supervision of
the Dean of the School of Law and with the counsel and advice of the
Cousins Fellowship Steering Committee. |
Frequently Asked Questions:
What kind of projects will the Cousins Fellowship support?
The Cousins Fellowship will support any proposal that addresses the
civil legal needs of indigent Georgians and that also provides
learning, student practice and service opportunities for law students.
Examples of possible projects could include: representation in court on
a particular legal issue; transactional and planning assistance to
low-income citizens on personal or business concerns; a program of
targeted community legal education; a program to enhance access to
courts or agencies. We encourage applicants to be creative, while at
the same time considering how the project will provide learning
opportunities for law students.
Does the Cousins Fellowship prioritize particular substantive areas for projects?
No. Plausible proposals might address needs that include: family life
(including child care, support, protective services, or domestic
violence); consumer concerns; shelter and housing; income maintenance;
small business development; community empowerment; and many, many
others. Project proposals might also choose to address the needs of
particular underserved populations, including groups defined by age,
medical condition, community, race, ethnicity, and the like.
The
Fellowship Program will focus solely on civil legal assistance, and
thus excludes representation in the criminal justice system. However,
project proposals might address the civil legal needs encountered by
individuals who have been accused or convicted of a crime.
Must project work occur in Georgia? Must it occur in the Athens area?
Projects must provide services to the citizens of Georgia. However, it
is possible that a project might also benefit citizens of other states
and that a regional focus might provide a better guarantee of long-term
support for the project.
Project work does not
have to occur in the Athens, Georgia, area. The Fellowship
Program does ask that the proposal provide learning opportunities
for law students at the University of Georgia School of Law. Proposals
for service in Athens would provide obvious geographical advantages for
this purpose. However, we encourage flexibility in considering the
different ways in which law students might engage in project-related
work, including research and support, externship opportunities and
summer work. This flexibility should assure that services can occur
where they are most needed in Georgia.
The
Fellowship requires that law students be involved in the project's
work. What does that mean? What are the different ways that a Fellow
might work with law students?
Fellows
will be asked to work with law students, and law students can work with
each Fellow, in three distinct ways. First, the Fellow will be asked to
co-teach a class with a law school clinical faculty member in which the
need that they propose to address forms a primary topic of discussion.
The opportunity and challenge of teaching the project as a classroom
topic should encourage thorough and creative exploration of the
proposed project.
Second,
Fellows may call on law students to help with research, investigation
and other practical support for the project. Law students could engage
with the Fellow as paid research assistants (with the Fellowship
stipend as the source of payment) or in for-credit research and project
opportunities under the law school's existing curriculum.
Third,
Fellows will be asked to assure law student engagement in project work
and service provision. The exact nature of law student engagement will
vary with the nature of the project. For projects that provide
litigation or administrative advocacy, project proposals could rely to
a significant extent on student practice under relevant student
practice rules; or students could serve as litigation/advocacy
assistants in connection with preparation for hearings. For projects of
community education, students might help to prepare and to deliver
relevant presentations. For projects involving transactional counseling
and drafting, students might serve both as interviewers and as drafters
of relevant plans and supporting documents.
Fellows
will thus be asked to work with students in classroom settings, in work
supervision, or in clinical interactions about specific law practice
tasks. Each Fellow will consult with the Fellowship Coordinator about
exactly how the project might enhance the learning experiences of
students, and how law students might in turn expand or improve the
service.
When do Fellowships start?
Somewhere between August 1 and September 1 each year. The timing
assures the Fellow will teach at a minimum during the fall semester at
the University of Georgia School of Law.
Each
Fellow must work at the law school during the initial, teaching and
research period of the Fellowship. How long does this period last? What
do Fellows do during this period? Must they reside in Athens?
Fellows must work at the law school for at least one semester and for
no more than one full calendar year. The exact length of time will
depend on the nature of the proposal and its relationship to existing
services. For example, an entirely new project may require a longer
time to develop, requiring additional time at the law school. By
contrast, a proposal that enhances or expands an existing service might
begin those services much sooner. Each Fellow will work with the
Fellowship Coordinator to determine the exact length of the teaching
and research phase.
During this phase, the Fellow must co-teach in at least one course, on
a topic related to the proposed service, as described above. In
addition, the Fellow will have office space at the law school, as well
as computing and secretarial support. We encourage the Fellow to use
this period to engage in research, outreach, networking and resource
creation in connection with project services. Fellows will need to
establish and maintain regular contact with the host and the Georgia
community in which the service will occur. At the same time, Fellows
will also have the opportunity, with support from the Fellowship
stipend, to explore and even visit other similar services elsewhere in
the country. Finally, with the assistance of the Fellowship
Coordinator, Fellows will have the opportunity to make contact with
interested academics and to use the wealth of library and other
information resources available to them at the University of Georgia.
Fellows may, but are not required to, reside in Athens during the
teaching and research phase. At the same time, Fellows must be
available to teach and to be available to students during this period
and will be encouraged to take advantage of relevant resources at the
law school and the university generally. The Fellowship requires a
full-time commitment during all phases of the project, so Fellows
should ensure that work performed elsewhere during the teaching and
research phase relate to the development of the project.
Once project services have begun,
what relationship will the Fellow have to the host organization? To law
students? To the law school?
The host organization serves as the primary location from which the
Fellow provides direct client services. It is expected that the Fellow
will relocate from the law school to the host organization when active
project service begins. Once that transition occurs, the Fellow may,
but has no obligation to, maintain a presence at the law school.
However, the Fellow must actively supervise those law students who will
be assisting the Fellow with project services. T
he Fellow must also maintain regular periodic contact with the
Fellowship Coordinator, who will visit the Fellow at the host
organization at least once during the service phase of the project.
What kinds of reporting is required of Fellows?
Fellows must write two reports during the period of their Fellowship.
The first report should occur at the transition from the research and
teaching phase to the service phase of the project. This report should
summarize the Fellow's activities during the initial phase and must set
forth a specific plan of action for the project, using criteria
developed by the Fellow and the Fellowship Coordinator. The second
report should occur at the close of the service phase, should assess
the success of the project, and should contain a description of the
ongoing, longer-term effect of the project. The Fellow will be asked to
present each report to the Cousins Fellowship Steering Committee.
Following the presentation of the second report, the Fellow will have
no further obligations under the Fellowship.
Contact Information
All questions about the Fellowship should be addressed to:
Alexander Scherr
University of Georgia School of Law
Herty Drive
Athens, Georgia 30602
(706) 542-6510 (voice)
(706) 583-0204 (fax)
scherr@uga.edu
Applications
for the 2008-2010 Cousins Public Interest Fellowship are due May 15, 2008. |
